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Patariro
|image = File:Kurokawa-vjump95.png |imagesize = 180px |caption = Masahiko Kurokawa during 1995's V-Jump Festival |Row 1 title = Occupation: |Row 1 info = Game designer |Row 2 title = Years Active: |Row 2 info = 1986–2008 }} "Patariro" was the pseudonym often used by Masahiko Kurokawa ( )Scion; Dire 51 (24 April 2010). "Interview with Kouichi "Isuke" Yotsui". LSCM 4.0. Translated by Gaijin Punch. Accessed October 24, 2010. while working on the [[Strider (NES)|NES version of Strider]]. He also worked under the pseudonyms "Kuro""黒川 真圭 (Masayoshi Kurokawa)" (in Japanese). GSLA Japan. Accessed May 23, 2016.''Commando''. (Capcom). NES. Level/area: End credits. (September 27, 1986). and "MX-5" (a reference to Ken's code number in Street Fighter 2010).''Disney's Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse''. (Capcom). SNES. Level/area: End credits. (November 20, 1992). His work is often credited to Masayoshi Kurokawa ( ), which was a "stage name" Kurokawa used extensively during and after his video game careerPane, Salvatore (September 27, 2016). "Kurokawa" (English). Mega Man 3: Boss Fight Books #14. Pg. 171. ISBN 1-94-053514-X.. He was best known for his work on Capcom's ''Mega Man'' and ''Resident Evil'' series and his frequent collaborations with Tokuro Fujiwara. Early Life Masahiko Kurokawa was born in Osaka in 1963. He went to the same university as Kouichi Yotsui and like him followed a career in film.Robson, Daniel (October 2014). "The Making of...Strider". Edge (271). Pg. 96-99. Career Capcom Kurokawa went to work for Capcom in 1985. His earliest known work for them was the Famicom port of their coin-op ''Commando''. This project was his first with Tokuro Fujiwara, whom he would collaborate with for the duration of his career. Masahiko Kurakawa also planned Capcom's 1987 release, [http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Higemaru_Makaijima Higemaru Makaijima]Higemaru Makajima. (Capcom). Famicom. Level/area: End credits. (April 14, 1987)., itself a sequel to another Capcom coin-op, ''Pirate Ship Higemaru''. These minor additions to Capcom's library led to his working on the Moto Kikaku ''Strider'' project with Kouichi Yotsui and Tatsumi Wada. Kurokawa's experience with the Famicom informed his decision to develop the [[Strider (NES)|"consumer version" of Strider]] for that system, which irked Yotsui. Taking advantage of their background in film, Yotsui and Kurokawa developed a detailed setting for the project together, and eventually each one wrote their own script for itSzczepaniak, John (January 10, 2016) "Interview with Roy Ozaki and Kouichi Yotsui". Hardcore Gaming 101 official YouTube page. Accessed May 23, 2016.. Kurokawa and Wada, however, worked more together than with Yotsui for the duration of their work on Strider, tying their individual projects more closely to each other than to his. For unknown reasons, Kurokawa's Strider was released only in the West, not in Japan. After completing Strider, Kurokawa worked on Disney's ''Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'' alongside Keiji Inafune''Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers''. (Capcom). NES. Level/area: End credits. (June 8, 1990).. When Akira Kitamura left Capcom in 1990 to start TakeruCRV (August 21, 2009). "Company:Takeru". Game Developer Research Institute. Accessed 17 Dec 2010., Kurokawa took over Kitamura's planning duties on the Mega Man franchise''Mega Man 3''. (Capcom). NES. Level/area: End credits. (September 28, 1990).. He and Inafune did not see eye-to-eye during the development of Mega Man 3. Inafune had "a lot of preset notions about how things should be"Mega Man: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. pp. 16–21. ISBN 978-1-89737-679-9. and claimed that Kurokawa "didn't really understand Mega Man the way his predecessor did". Kurokawa quit the production before the game was finished, leaving the remaining planning responsibilities for Inafune."Power Profiles: Keiji Inafune". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (220): pp. 79–81. October 2007. Kurokawa returned to the Disney license for Capcom's 1992 SNES release, ''Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse''. He also served in an advisory capacity on the production of ''Mega Man 5''''Mega Man 5''. (Capcom). NES. Level/area: End credits. (December 4, 1992). and ''Mega Man 6''''Mega Man 6''. (Capcom). NES. Level/area: End credits. (November 5, 1993)., and worked as producer in the 1996 joint Capcom/Toho live-action series Shichisei Tōshin Guyferd"Shichisei Tōshin Guyferd (1996)" (Japanese). allcinema.net. Accessed May 23, 2016. However, the capstone to his Capcom career was the 1996 PlayStation smash hit, ''Resident Evil''.''Resident Evil''. (Capcom). PlayStation. Level/area: End credits. (March 22, 1996). Freelance Years Tokuro Fujiwara left Capcom after the release of Resident Evil and started his own company, Whoopee Camp. Masahiko Kurokawa followed him. There they created the [[wikipedia:Tomba!|''Tomba!]] series. Kurokawa wrote the scenarios for both itWhoopee Camp. [[wikipedia:Tomba!|''Tomba!]]. (Sony Computer Entertainment). PlayStation. Level/area: End credits. (December 25, 1997). and its eventual sequel, Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine ReturnWhoopee Camp. Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return. (Sony Computer Entertainment). PlayStation. Level/area: End credits. (October 28, 1998).. Tomba! was critically acclaimed and widely anticipated but suffered from poor distribution. Whoopee Camp went under after Tomba! 2. Undeterred, Fujiwara started another company, Deep Space. Kurokawa followed him to the new company, where he revisited many of the themes from Resident Evil in Deep Space's 2001 PlayStation 2 game, ''Extermination''Deep Space. ''Extermination''. (Sony Computer Entertainment). PlayStation. Level/area: End credits. (March 8, 2001).. Kurokawa also contributed to Deep Space's 2003 PlayStation 2 release, Hungry Ghosts''Deep Space. ''Hungry Ghosts. (Sony Computer Entertainment). PlayStation. Level/area: End credits. (July 31, 2003)., a first-person horror game geared more towards exploration and "virtual experience" than survivalHamamura, Hirozaku (2 July 2003). "The Lair of Hungry Ghosts". ''Famitsu''. Translated by Fox, Fennec. Accessed 25 Feb 2011.. Deep Space ended up folding as well. Many of its staff went on to form Access Games. After Deep Space, Kurokawa worked as a professor for several Japanese vocational schools. He taught in the gaming career departments of ECC Computer College and Human Academy Co., and was also a contributing member of the "Neko No Mori" drama troupe"メンバー紹介" (in Japanese). "劇団猫の森　HP". Accessed 23 Nov 2012.. He passed away on July 2008 at the age of 45.Takase, Kazuhiro (July 22, 2008). "Memorial, Masayoshi Kurokawa-san" (Japanese). Suteru nya Oshī Sute Zerifu!!! livedoorBlog. Archived. Accessed May 31, 2019 Gameography References Category:Creators